Siobhan cleared her throat to get their attention back. “Regardless of how I learned it, the matter stands. We are not going to cause our hosts trouble, we are not going to destroy their furniture, and I will not stand for further fighting on these grounds. Clear? Good. Now, Wolf and Tran, you need to find something to do that doesn’t involve each other’s company.”
With nods and sighs, they complied and filed out of the room, going in different directions once they hit the hallway. Hopefully they stayed away from each other for the rest of the day.
Siobhan had to admit that this skulking thing had advantages. “Rune, let’s go back up.”
He brightened perceptibly. “It’s fun, ain’t it?”
Yes, it surprisingly was.
While Iron Dragain had a very nice complex, and the members here went out of their way to be hospitable, Siobhan could hardly stay on their grounds day in and day out without risking her sanity. What she had left of it, anyway. She tried to find other things to do, but packing for the trip hadn’t taken more than a few minutes. After picking up and setting down the same book three times, sharpening her swords, and picking at a mid-morning snack, she finally gave up. Maybe a good stroll around the city would help.
Walking around and doing some sightseeing appealed to her, but she knew good and well that this place was a labyrinth. She in no way wanted to stay lost for the rest of the day, or worse, wander into the wrong part of town alone. No, better to have a guide.
Leaning back in her chair, she called to the ceiling, “Rune?”
No answer.
Hmm, now that was strange. Since Fei had taken Rune under his wing, Rune had been up in the rafters nearly nonstop. Perhaps he was spying on someone else instead of her for a change? Come to think of it, she didn’t know how much time he spent on any one person before moving on. He seemed to know what everyone was up to, but he couldn’t possibly do that without splitting his time among them.
With a scrape of the chair, she left the table and walked out into the hallway, calling to the ceiling as she went. “Rune? Rune! How strange, where did he get off to? Sound carries up there quite well, he usually hears me. Rune!”
Two women passing by gave her strange looks. Siobhan managed an embarrassed smile and rubbed at the back of her neck. Oh, right. This would look strange to anyone else, her calling a person’s name to a blank ceiling. Come to think of it, should she be advertising that Rune spent his time up above everyone’s heads? Hmmm.
At that moment, Sylvie rounded the corner at a dead run, spied her, and relief washed over her face. “Siobhan! Oh thank the stars, quick, come stop them!”
“Stop who?” she demanded, reflex kicking in so that she automatically ran forward.
“Rune and a few men from Iron Dragain,” Sylvie explained quickly.
“Rune? Why?”
“I don’t know!” Sylvie practically wailed. “I was just walking by and saw one of Iron Dragain’s men—Kark? Kirk? Something like that—take a swing at Rune. Of course, Rune dodged it, but right now he’s up against three of them!”
No matter how good a fighter he was, those were steep odds. “Where?”
“Dead ahead, take two lefts, it will dump you into the right courtyard,” Sylvie rapidly instructed.
Siobhan lengthened her stride, quickly leaving Sylvie behind, as the other woman wasn’t a particularly fast runner. She followed the directions to the letter and skidded to a halt just inside the doorway that led out into the courtyard.
If she hadn’t stopped, she’d have lost her head.
She took in the sight with open dismay and a sick sensation twisting her gut. Hadn’t Sylvie said three?! She counted a good half-dozen men in there now, all trying to tear a strip off of Rune’s hide. The former assassin was dodging and weaving, focusing so totally on defense that he barely got any strikes in himself. She could tell from the controlled way his fists moved that he was taking care to not seriously injure anyone.
Great thunder and rain, just what was she supposed to do to stop this? Three men might listen to her, but six guildmembers of Iron Dragain would not heed the words of a Robargean guildmaster. At the same time, she didn’t want to go hunt down one of the officers of the guild,